A federal judge ruled Friday that American Airlines violated its legal responsibilities in managing employees’ retirement assets by encouraging environmentally and socially responsible investing in its 401(k) plan. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, said American breached its duty to employees because BlackRock an asset manager the airline uses for its retirement funds, favored so-called ESG goals and based investment decisions on factors other than financial interests. In the suit, an American airline pilot alleged that the company’s retirement investment plans through BlackRock underperformed because of the firm’s ESG focus.
